


Snapshot

by Decker



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-26
Updated: 2011-04-26
Packaged: 2017-10-18 16:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decker/pseuds/Decker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments frozen in time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snapshot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Adoxographist](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Adoxographist).



Dave took up photography as one of his first attempts to get out of the shadow of his brother.

Although Bro loved music and liked his old movies, he actually didn't have much appreciation for the visual arts. His webcomic was purely ironic and he only learned how to draw well enough throw out a comic every week or so. Bro was the kind of person who saw the Mona Lisa and said

“I don't even seen the big fuckin' deal here. Five bucks says it was just some chick Leo was banging. 'Oh Leo, your make such pretty pic-a-tures. Make one of me!' 'Okay, fine but I better be getting laid for this.' Dumb broad can't even smile right.”

It started a couple years ago. Dave followed his brother everywhere, like a little shadow with sunglasses. Although Bro loved Dave like a son, he occasionally got sick of having his baby brother around.

“Dave, dude, you have to get a hobby that doesn't involve me. I love ya bro, but too much of a good thing, you know?”

“How do you expect me to do that? I don't have any money. I use all of YOUR old stuff.”

“Fuck, son, if you find something that will give me five minutes alone I will BUY it for you. Straight up.”

“Alright, alright, fine.”

*

Unlike Bro, Dave did appreciate art. While Bro was ranting about some “dumb broad” Dave could only think to himself that everyone knew her name and what she looked like. She might have died, what, five hundred years ago? People were still talking about her. They studied her, tried to figure her out, and wondered about her little half smile.

All you needed to do was freeze a moment around someone and they could live forever. Not even a moment, just a second. An instant.

One morning when Bro was sitting in the kitchen drinking a huge cup of coffee with a little milk and way too much sugar, Dave walked up to him and handed him a page torn out of a magazine. Bro took it and started reading it out loud.

“Ansel Adams photography starter kit. Impress your friends with scenes of nature and other artistic blah blah blah. Includes camera, enlarger, developer, stop bath, and twenty sheets of photography paper in a light-proof storage kit. From Kodak.”

Bro looked at Dave.

“Photography? Really?”

“Yep.”

“This thing is like two hundred bucks.”

“You promised. It doesn't involve you at all.”

“Yeah, I did. Alright, but you better stick to this.”

Five minutes later, Bro was on the phone, trying to navigate past the phone menus and tapping the corner of his credit-card against the table.

*

One of Dave's favorite places to take pictures from was the roof. Between training, taking pictures, and just chilling out, it seemed like he spent more time here than in his room. He wouldn't admit it under the worst torture, but he loved watching the sunsets up here. The city smog made the sky light up with color.

Dave faced West and watched the sun set. The sky flared with reds, purples, and finally black overhead. He waited until the sun was under the horizon, when he saw the city skyscrapers become silhouettes against the fading light. He lifted up his camera and pointing it at the skyline. He played with the focus for a few seconds and...

Click.

And that moment was frozen in time forever. Dave swore the colors showed even in the black and white film.

*

Bro was leaning over his turntables with some oversized headphone wrapped around his ears. He was listening intently to one of a stack of old records he just bought, flicking his wrist back and forth to make it scratch. He was trying to get a rhythm down for his DJ gig later that week.

He didn't hear Dave come in, but saw him standing there, pointing his camera at Bro.

“Trying to steal my soul little man? You're a little late for that.” He said, dropping the headphones around his neck.

“School report.” Dave said. “Going to write about my big brother, the DJ. Put your headphones back on.”

“Seriously?”

“I need a picture of you working. It's either this or making puppet movies.”

“Fuck that. I don't need child services stomping around here. Again.” Bro put his headphones back on and reached under the table for another record. Dave snapped his picture right as he was flipping the new record on the second turntable.

Click.

“Hey! I wasn't ready!”

“That was the point. A pose would look stupid. Got to catch the moment Bro, not make one up.”

Bro just laughed and shook his head.

*

Despite his new hobby, Dave still liked music. He spend many hours leaning over his turntables, a hand-me-down from his brother. With his headphones on he played, recorded, mixed and experimented with sounds. He tried mixing rap and classical. He tried slowing things down or speeding them up. More bass, less guitar.

Dave learned some time ago that it was all about the rhythm, the timing. Music was nothing without being timed right. Otherwise it was just noise. Any idiot could, say, blow a trumpet and make noise. With the right rhythm though, you had people like Louis Armstrong.

Then he learned that the timing was...pretty much everything. With the right rhythm you could make music out of anything. Rap turned words into music. Hell, theremins existed.

And it was all about the beat. The rhythm, the timing.

The timing.

Dave was struck by what he thought was an absurd idea. He slowly took his headphones off and laid them on the turntables. He got up and walked across his room, grabbed his camera, and looked at his musical equipment through the viewfinder. He spent a couple minutes lining it up. The headphone cord trailing across the equipment. The keyboard in the background. The mixer in the front.

Click.

“You took a picture of your setup?” Bro asked him, looking at the photo.

“Yeah. It's a...meta...commentary...thing. Because, see, music is all about timing. And the camera, like, takes that timing OUT. You can't really have a picture of music because music can't exist in just that little instant.”

“And because you can't hear a picture.”

“That's not the point! Well, it kind of is, but...”

“...so it's irony.”

Dave threw his hands up. “Yes! Irony!”

“I can dig it.” Bro said, handing the picture back.

*

Dave sat on the edge of a huge gear in the Land of Heat and Clockwork. He wasn't sure how long he's been in this game now. Days? A week? He laughed at the irony of the Knight of time not knowing how much time has passed.

He opened his inventory and pulled out a manilla envelope. He carefully undid the clasp and pulled out several glossy pictures. He sat there, and quietly went through them one at a time, staring at each one for a long time before moving on to the next one. Trying to remember every little detail.

His city.

His brother.

His music.

Terezi had asked him about this little ritual.

TG: i guess its just my way of making sure they arnt really gone   
GC: UH, D4V3. I H4T3 TO BR34K 1T TO YOU, BUT...   
TG: no thats not what I meant  
TG: just  
TG: fuck  
TG: i know you come from your little hellhole salusa secundus prison planet or whatever but dont you have any happy memories?   
GC: S4LUS4 WH4T? >:?   
TG: move reference  
TG: dont tell egbert  
TG: i dont want to deal with him trying to quote me shitty movies while humping my leg or whatever it is shitty movie nerds do when they meet each other  
TG: and answer the question   
GC: SUR3. I H4V3 4 F3W  
GC: 4 COUPL3 FL4RP S3SS1ONS  
GC: M33T1NG N3P3T4 FOR TH3 F1RST T1M3  
GC: PUTT1NG TH3 MOV3S ON K4RKL3S >:]   
TG: oh my god  
TG: just  
TG: gonna stop you there  
TG: anyway  
TG: the point i was trying to make before you melted my human brain  
TG: that as long as you remember those things  
TG: as long as anyone remembers them  
TG: that theyre not really gone   
GC: L1K3 4 ST4TU3 MONUM3NT?  
GC: “H3R3 ST4NDS SOM3 TROLL WHO K1LL3D L1K3 4 M1LL1ON GUYS FOR WH1CH W3 W1LL 4LW4YS R3M3MB3R H1M.”  
GC: TH3Y USU4LLY G3T R3PL4C3D 3V3RY F3W Y34RS THOUGH   
TG: uh, kinda  
TG: except they  
TG: you know  
TG: actually get remembered   
GC: BUT P4ST 1S P4ST  
GC: C4NT LOOK FORW4RD 1F YOUR3 4LW4YS LOOK1NG B4CK   
TG: you can do both  
GC: >:?  
TG: i got stuff to do  
TG: well talk about it more later.

Dave sighed, put his pictures back in the envelope, and safely stored away several little moments of time.


End file.
